The book is presented as a timeline of development with emphasis on human and vertebrate biology. Fully documented examples exhaustively illustrate general principles in viewing development of structure and function as an integrated unity. All chapters have been extensively revised by noted international specialists. The book incorporates the most recent studies and research, including advances in stem cells and genomics. New chapters on aging and glial biology have been added. Continuity with previous editions is maintained by retention of the historical perspective for which this title is known. The book stresses the universal aspects of the development of the nervous system in both vertebrates and invertebrates, especially at the cellular level, but also compares and contrasts different levels of neuronal organization, giving much attention to phylogenetic and individual variations in neuronal ontogeny. With its comprehensive and completely updated coverage, generous illustrations, and a table of contents that reads like a Who's Who in neuroscience, this new and expanded Fourth Edition is a must book for the professional neurobiologist and others seeking definitive and authoritative information in this important field. Instructors, as well as graduate and advanced under-graduate students, will also appreciate its clearly presented information, historical references, and organization for classroom use.

Excerpt from Customer Reviews

Neurodevelopment - the details, November 26, 2000

The general reader who has read other developmental references and would like more information concerning various aspects of the development of higher nervous systems, will find this reference useful. This reference is a synthesis of the neurobiological literature (indeed, the reference section occupies a third of its pages), but it is nonetheless very readable. The reference starts with neurulation and lineages of nerve cells including the neuroglia. There is then a chapter on the neural crest cells. This is followed by development of axons, dendrites and synapses, including the influence of neurotrophic factors. There is then a chapter on the development of the cerebral cortex and the cerebellar cortex. Morphogenesis of these cortices occurs in three phases - formation and migration of various types of neurons and glia to characteristic positions; forming redundant dendrites and axons, with transient synapses; pruning of dendrites, axons and neurons themselves. The final chapter is on the development of neuronal specificity and neuronal projection maps. Even though a very large percentage of the mammalian genome is expressed exclusively in the nervous system, the genome is still not large enough to specify in detail the interconnections of the developed brain. Rather, it is more parsimonious for the genome to specify programs of histogenesis, migration and various cellular interactions. A neuronal projection map is where one set of neurons projects its axons to another set of neurons such the connections reflect the spatial order of the neurons. Neuronal projection maps are found throughout the nervous system.